Congrats to Christian Luff for a new publication on learning in raptors that was based on his bachelor thesis!
The study conducted in collaboration with the Nuremberg Zoo showed that pair-bonded harpy eagles (Harpia harpyja) are capable of heterospecific social learning in the context of nest building. Results add a new species to the squad of social learners in the animal kingdom and highlight that such capacities are not limited to complex social systems. Findings also promote the notion that ex-situ investigations, especially of species that are notoriously difficult to follow in increasingly fragmented natural habitats, are critical sources for applied conservation strategies. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10336-025-02304-1